Since juniors are eligible for the major league draft, seniors are a relatively rare commodity on college baseball rosters.

So imagine USD coach Rich Hill’s delight when three players expected to depart last year— pitchers A.J. Griffin and Matt Thomson and outfielder James Meador — all returned as seniors this season.

“Christmas came early when these guys came back,” said Hill. “It was extremely unexpected. We recruited with it in mind that these guys were going to be gone.”

Thomson was selected last season in the 12th round by the Detroit Tigers. Griffin was a 34th-round choice by the Philadelphia Phillies. Meador was not drafted, although, like Griffin, could have gone around the 10th round if he was willing to sign for what was being offered.

“No one goes to school to be there four years,” said Meador. “You want the fastest way to pro ball.”

But Meador said bonus money “dropped off the table” where he would have been selected, so it made more sense financially to get another year of education paid for by the school.

“It was an easy decision to make,” said Thomson. “Knowing the guys we had coming back, the potential this year had to offer. In my eyes, we’re a championship team.”

The No. 22-ranked Toreros (27-16, 12-0 West Coast Conference) are well on their way.

First-place USD visits second-place Portland (31-14, 11-1) this weekend in a WCC showdown. The team that wins the three-game series will be in control of its postseason destiny.

USD this year played the nation’s most demanding nonconference schedule, which paid off once WCC play began.

“I feel like we turned it on a little bit more once conference started,” said Griffin. “We’ve seen everything the nation has to offer. I think we’re good to go and in a good spot.”

Meador, Thomson and Griffin have been a big part of the success, providing unexpected depth to a team derailed by injuries last season.

Meador, the WCC’s Player of the Year last season, is batting .375 with 5 home runs and 52 runs batted in on the season. In conference, he is hitting a torrid .519 with 3 homers and 21 RBI in 12 games.

In WCC play, Griffin is 3-0 with a 3.64 ERA as one of the team’s weekend starters and Thomson is 1-0 with a save and a 1.12 ERA in four appearances out of the bullpen.

“When we get into a regional, teams are going to have to pay a lot of attention to us.”

Notable

•The WCC Championship Series was eliminated for cost reasons this year, meaning the conference’s automatic NCAA berth goes to the regular-season winner.

Although USD’s 12-0 start is the second-best in conference history (Loyola Marymount started 15-0 in 1988), the Toreros have Portland hot on their heels. No one else in the conference is within four games of USD.